Chapter 144: Breaking All Pretense of Cordiality

“Old Man Wakabayashi, please rest assured, we are genuine professionals.”

The one who said this was a tall foreigner. He lay on the sofa, speaking fluent Japanese.

“With me and my companions here, the safety of this residence is guaranteed.”

The Iwamoto Group’s Old Man Wakabayashi only knew him as “William,” a professional bodyguard hired at great expense. He and his team were professional employees of a private security company, who usually also worked as mercenaries, security experts, or security personnel.

This secret villa belonging to the Iwamoto Group was filled with their people, inside and out.

Regarding William’s words, Old Man Wakabayashi could only nod in agreement.

It was truly ironic. His own Iwamoto Group was, after all, a yakuza gang. Yet, to protect his own family, he had to hire specialized personnel from outside.

The repeated surprise attacks by the League of Nether Ghosts over the past few days had caused significant losses to the Iwamoto Group, resulting in a severe shortage of personnel. To deal with the situation, even a group of fighters hired for the underground fighting rings had been mobilized.

The Sunao-gumi, who shared close ties with the Iwamoto Group, were not faring well either. However, they still had some strength left to hold on. The situation for the Iwamoto Group was extremely precarious. As the primary target of the attacks, they had lost much of their territory.

Furthermore, he had just received some rather bad news: that kid Higashi Yuantai had also been captured.

(This was a misstep, completely outmaneuvered. The Black Devourer Syndicate and the Takaha Group undoubtedly anticipated our every move…)

The Murakami Group, beset by internal troubles and external threats, naturally had no strength to offer assistance. Meanwhile, through secretly spread rumors, Kume Nansho had been drawn to a neighboring city, unable to return quickly to provide support.

After losing this major “support,” the League of Nether Ghosts, who had been lying low for many days, launched a surprise attack in coordination with the Takaha Group. After several rounds of intense battles, they managed to secure a foothold.

By the time Wakabayashi and Higashi Yuantai realized what was happening, the Takaha Group had completely gained the upper hand.

“Daddy, where did Mommy go?”

Wakabayashi’s nine-year-old daughter, Shiori, held her elderly father’s hand, whining with a nasal tone.

Wakabayashi felt a pang of heartache. He couldn’t tell his daughter what had happened to his wife. Of course, he had already seen what the Takaha Group sent. But he was, after all, a yakuza, so he naturally wouldn’t show his emotions on his face.

“Mr. William, my enemies, the ‘League of Nether Ghosts,’ are no ordinary foes. I hope your side will do its utmost to guard this residence…”

This once-dominant yakuza boss now had no choice but to lower his head and bow to this white bodyguard.

“I entrust the protection of my daughter to you from now on!”

“Please rest assured, there are absolutely no problems with the residence’s security. The Black Swan system designed by our company is considered the most advanced security device in the industry. Furthermore, all employees are well-trained experts. I think you have no need to worry about this point at all.”

William was full of confidence. He had never even heard of any “League of Nether Ghosts” or similar names. He estimated they were just some unknown Asian criminal gang.

(These yellow monkeys only know how to barbarically shout and kill. They’ve never been on a real battlefield. Otherwise, dealing with a mere mob, it would only take me half an hour to easily clean up the battlefield…)

He looked down upon the scuffles between these yakuza gangs, and he didn’t believe anyone would dare to attack this heavily guarded residence.

Yes, this villa was now completely without blind spots, equivalent to stationing an “army.” Not even a fly could get in.

“That’s excellent then!”

Wakabayashi straightened his clothes. He said in a deep voice, “I cannot stay idle in this safe residence forever. Communication with the outside world is impossible here. While it can block signals, it also prevents contact with the group’s executives. I must return to the group to take charge of the overall situation. From now on, I ask your side to protect Shiori’s safety.”

Yes, for a father, his daughter’s safety was more important than anything. But his identity wasn’t just that of a father.

For Wakabayashi, the leader of the Iwamoto Group, he also could not abandon the members of his own Iwamoto Group.

Probably while he hid in this safe residence, the gang members loyal to the Iwamoto Group were being unilaterally brutalized by the enemy.

If he could sit back and watch that happen, then he shouldn’t be the leader anymore.

He made a painful decision to leave this “safe house” and actively engage in a contest with the Takaha Group and the Black Devourer Syndicate.

Suddenly, a sound seemed to come from outside the residence. It was a commotion, rising from the courtyard downstairs.

“Oh! shit!”

“FUCK!”

Noises of shouting came from the sealed windows. William was also greatly startled. He hurriedly pulled out his walkie-talkie and rattled off a series of words in English to the others.

“Team C calling for support!! Team C calling for support!!…”

Someone kept shouting loudly.

“Quick! You spineless wastes, shoot!”

Dense gunfire and screams came from the other end.

“Team D reporting… Sir, I don’t know what that is, I only saw a shadow… Oh god, he’s here, damn it, he took down Jamie! Go to hell! Bitch, die!”

The walkie-talkie hissed a few times, then another shrill scream was heard. Another team had lost contact.

William finally showed a change in expression. He finally realized the situation was extremely bad. The commotion outside the house gradually died down.

And the main door of this room opened onto a corridor on the second floor. Gradually, footsteps could be heard approaching.

“Wh-why? Why were my men taken down so quickly…”

William couldn’t understand what had happened. His eyes were bloodshot. On one hand, he was extremely angry, on the other hand, he was deeply suspicious.

His men’s capabilities were no joke. They had fortified this house like an iron bucket. How exactly had the enemy managed to break in?

While pondering this question, he also threw the now-silent walkie-talkie on the table and quickly pulled out a USP from his person. Holding the gun with both hands, he gestured to Wakabayashi, telling the old man to take the frightened little girl and step back, hiding behind the sofa.

William took a deep breath, listening to the footsteps outside, calculating the timing, distance, position, and angle.

The corridor was less than five meters long. The other party would reach it in just a few steps. When the other party got within one or two meters was his best chance to strike.

(This angle from the room allows me to see the person outside, but he definitely won’t discover me hiding to the right of the door. And from my perspective, this is also the best shooting position…)

He pressed his whole body against the right wall, carefully pushed the door open a crack, then suddenly twisted his body, leaning half out, and raised his gun to fire outside.

Just as he raised his gun, a hand appeared like a ghost, firmly gripping his wrist. With a slight exertion, it crushed the bones in his wrist.

Before William could even cry out, another hand grabbed his neck, lifting him up like a chick.

He was a grown white man, tall and burly. But to the person who burst into the room, he seemed light as nothing.

With a slight squeeze, blood flowed from William’s nostrils. His eyes bulged like a dead fish’s. He could suffocate and die at any moment.

“Oh! Old Man Wakabayashi, so you are here…”

Fang Jing held William with one hand. Behind him followed Higashi Yuantai, smoking a cigar.

“Old Man, long time no see…”

Higashi Yuantai grinned, which probably tugged at his wounds. His smile was exceptionally bitter.

————————

Only when the two sides officially met face to face did they realize it was all a misunderstanding.

“Only the Old Man and I know about this residence. After I rushed over, I found it surrounded by foreigners, so naturally I was shocked.”

Fang Jing and Higashi Yuantai, afraid of being tailed, had come secretly. After approaching the villa, they discovered it had been occupied by someone.

Both thought that Old Man Wakabayashi and his daughter Shiori inside the residence had been captured by the Takaha Group or the Black Devourer Syndicate.

To prevent signals from being sent out, only internal radio channels could be used within the residence, making it naturally impossible to contact each other.

Higashi Yuantai wanted to find an opportunity to ascertain the actual situation, but Fang Jing found that too troublesome and just charged straight in.

“Luckily, I felt something was wrong beforehand and told this guy not to kill indiscriminately…”

Higashi Yuantai wiped cold sweat from his forehead. Because the friend-or-foe situation was unclear, he had emphasized this point to Fang Jing. Otherwise, he feared this time would again result in corpses strewn everywhere and blood flowing like a river.

William wasn’t dead, but he was unconscious on the sofa. His companions were also laid out in a row, resting on the first floor of the villa.

He had a feeling that something about this young man seemed to have been cast off, his spirit no longer bound by any constraints. Even sitting upright on the sofa, he exuded an indescribable aura.

Fang Jing sat on the sofa, his hands resting on his knees, his posture very upright. He appeared rule-abiding, gentle, and refined, showing not a hint of ferocity or brutality. However, Higashi Yuantai had seen his “true nature.” Once Fang Jing started fighting, he was like a demon, sinister and cunning, his whole body radiating an inhuman, fierce aura.

Higashi Yuantai recalled the various situations that had occurred earlier, feeling as if a strange shudder was creeping up his spine.

He composed himself and quietly explained the situation as he understood it to the old man Wakabayashi.

“The Black Devourer Syndicate and the Takaha Group still hold the overall advantage. However, their weakness is also very apparent: they lack staying power. The Black Devourer Syndicate only sent those people from the League of Nether Ghosts to spearhead the attacks; they haven’t formally intervened. And the Takaha Group’s local influence can’t compare to our Sunao-gumi and the Iwamoto Group. If it really comes to a war of attrition, the winner will definitely be us.”

Higashi Yuantai was very skilled at analyzing situations. He had a good grasp of the circumstances.

“This is also the reason why the Takaha Group disregarded the underworld rules and directly targeted us.”

The yakuza also had certain internal rules. Basically, as long as both sides didn’t break all pretense of cordiality, taking the lead to attack high-ranking executives, as well as yakuza family members, was considered a kind of “taboo.”

This “taboo” itself was a kind of tacit understanding. That is, “don’t involve the family” was a sort of consensus. Not sniping at the group leader and major executives first was also a similar tacit understanding.

It’s just that everyone clearly understood one thing: this kind of tacit understanding always existed under the premise of not breaking all pretense of cordiality… Once both sides formally entered into open conflict, when they started fighting, they would become completely unrestrained.

“In other words, the Takaha Group cannot afford a war of attrition, which is why they have no choice but to use these underhanded methods.”

For the Takaha Group, capturing territory was one thing, but completely digesting it, consolidating their own domain, and preventing counterattacks from the Sunao-gumi and the Iwamoto Group was another matter entirely.